Drum type washing machine

ABSTRACT

A drum type washing machine is provided, in which vibration is efficiently attenuated, by a maximum capacity within a size-fixed cabinet is provided, and by which a user does not bend over or sit down to load laundry into the washing machine. The drum type washing machine includes a cabinet forming an exterior of the drum type washing machine, a tub fixed within the cabinet, the tub having a laundry loading entrance at an outer circumference of the tub, a drum rotatably provided within the tub, the drum having an opening on a lateral side of the drum to communicate with the laundry loading entrance of the tub, a motor assembly provided next to one side of the drum to rotate the drum, and a suspension assembly provided to support a weight of the drum and attenuate vibration of the drum.

More than one reissue application has been filed for the reissue of U.S.Pat. No. 7,536,882. The reissue applications are application Ser. Nos.13/116,059, 13/116,077 (the present application), 13/116,089,13/116,096, 13/116,105, 13/116,114, 13/116,147, and 13/116,159, all ofwhich are divisional reissues of U.S. Pat. No. 7,536,882

This application claims the benefit of the Korean Patent Application No.10-2006-0028358, filed on Mar. 29, 2006, and Korean Patent ApplicationNo. 10-2006-0033255, filed on Apr. 12, 2006, which are herebyincorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a washing machine, and moreparticularly, to a drum type washing machine. Although the presentinvention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it isparticularly suitable for facilitating laundry to be loaded and unloadedfrom the washing machine with a maximum capacity within a predeterminedvolume.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Generally, a drum type washing machine according to a related art hasthe following configuration.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional diagram of a drum type washing machineaccording to the related art, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional diagramaccording to a cutting line II-II shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a drum type washing machine according tothe related art consists of a cabinet 1 having a base 1a and a door 1b,a tub 2 provided within the cabinet 1 to be fixed thereto, a drum 3rotatably provided within the tub 2 to rotate laundry m and water by alift 3a, a motor 4 rotating the drum 3, and a spring 5, damper 6, andbalancer 7 attenuating vibration transferred to the tub 2.

The drum 3 is provided with a multitude of holes 3b to enable waterstored in the tub 2 to be introduced into the drum 3. The lift 3a isprovided on an inner surface of the drum 3. The lift 3a is rotatedtogether with the drum 3 to lift the laundry m loaded within the drum 3together with the water.

The tub 2 is provided to be spaced apart from inner lateral sides of thecabinet 1. Both sides of an upper end of the tub 2 are hung within thecabinet 1 via springs 5. The damper 6 is hinged between the tub 2 andthe base 1a to be supported over the base 1a. And, the springs 5 anddampers 6 attenuate the vibration carried to the cabinet 1 from the tub2.

The door 1b of the cabinet 1 is rotatably provided to a front side 1d ofthe cabinet 1 to enable the laundry m to be loaded. Front sides 2d and3d of the tub 2 and the drum 3 are provided with openings 2c and 3c tocommunicate with a hole (not shown in the drawings) opened by the door1b, respectively.

A gasket 8 is provided between the front side 1d of the cabinet 1 havingthe door 1b assembled thereto and the front side 2d of the tub 2 toprevent leakage of the water. In particular, the gasket 8 seals thespace between the inner lateral side of the cabinet 1 and the front side2d of the tub 2.

And, the motor 4 is provided to a backside of the tub 2 to rotate thedrum 3 provided within the tub 2.

However, the related art drum type washing machine has the followingproblems or disadvantages.

First of all, if vibration is generated from an inside of the drum 3 ofthe related art drum type washing machine due to the imbalance inwashing or dewatering, both of the drum 3 and the tub 2 are shaken asone body. And, the springs and dampers 5 and 6 are configured toattenuate the vibration.

Since the tub 2 vibrates, the outer circumference of the tub 2 and thecabinet 1 should be sufficiently spaced apart from each other with a gap(‘a’ in FIG. 1 or ‘b’ in FIG. 2) to prevent the cabinet 1 and the tub 2from colliding with each other. This restricts the capacity or volume ofthe tub 2 within the cabinet 1 having a fixed size.

Secondly, since the door 1b for loading and unloading the laundry andthe openings 2c and 3c of the tub and drum are provided to face thefront side of the washing machine, a user has to bend or sit down toload the laundry in the washing machine. This causes inconvenience tothe user in using the washing machine.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a drum type washingmachine that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due tolimitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An advantage of the present invention is to provide a drum type washingmachine, by which vibration may be efficiently attenuated in a manner ofproviding a maximum capacity within a cabinet of fixed size.

Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a drum typewashing machine, by which a user does not have to bend over or sit downto load laundry in the washing machine.

Additional advantages features of the invention will be set forth in thedescription which follows, and in part will be apparent from thedescription or may be learned from practice of the invention. Theobjectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized andattained by the structure particularly pointed out in the writtendescription and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with thepurpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, adrum type washing machine according to the present invention includes acabinet forming an exterior of the drum type washing machine, a tubfixed within the cabinet, the tub having a laundry loading entrance atan outer circumference of the tub, a drum rotatably provided within thetub, the drum having an opening on a lateral side of the drum tocommunicate with the laundry loading entrance of the tub, a motorassembly provided next to one side of the drum to rotate the drum, and asuspension assembly provided to support a weight of the drum andattenuate vibration of the drum.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory andshould not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification illustrate embodiments of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principles of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional diagram of a drum type washing machineaccording to a related art;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional diagram according to a cutting line II-IIshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional diagram of a drum type washing machineaccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional diagram of a drum type washing machineaccording to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective diagram of a tub, a drum and asuspension assembly of a drum type washing machine according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional diagram of a main damper shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional diagram of a sub-damper shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional diagram of a drum type washing machineaccording to a further embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective diagram of a tub, a drum and asuspension assembly of a drum type washing machine according to afurther embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional diagram of a rear damper shown in FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to an embodiment of the presentinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional diagram of a drum type washing machineaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a drum type washing machine according to oneembodiment of the present invention includes a cabinet 10 forming anexterior of the washing machine, a tube 20 fixed within the cabinet 10to store water therein, a drum 30 rotatably provided within the tub 20,a motor assembly 40 providing a rotational force to the drum 30, and asuspension assembly 70 supporting a weight of the drum 30 andattenuating vibration of the drum 30.

In particular, the cabinet 10 forms the exterior of the drum typewashing machine and includes a top cover 13 forming an upper side and abase 16.

Unlike the related art tub, the tub 20 of the present embodiment isfixed within the cabinet 10. That is, the tub 20 is directly assembledto an inner front side of the cabinet 10 of the washing machine, forexample, via bolts. It should be appreciated, however, that the tub 20may be fixed within the cabinet 10 in various ways.

A laundry loading entrance 21 is provided on an outer circumference ofthe tub 20 instead of being provided on the front side of the tub 20.Preferably, the laundry loading entrance 21 is provided to a positionfacing an upper side from a lateral side of the outer circumference tofacilitate a user to load and unload the laundry. Alternatively, thelaundry loading entrance 21 may be provided at another position of theouter circumference of the tub 20.

Optionally, a door 12 for loading the laundry may be provided to aposition of the cabinet 10 to oppose the laundry loading entrance 21 ofthe tub 20.

A door assembly 31 may be provided to the drum 30 to communicate withthe laundry loading entrance 21. Preferably, the laundry loadingentrance 21 and the door assembly 31 are configured to be opened orclosed if necessary.

Whenever the drum 30 of the drum type washing machine according to thepresent embodiment invention stops, it may always stop at a positionwhere the door assembly 31 of the drum 30 and the laundry loadingentrance 21 of the tub 20 may communicate with each other. Hence, a useris able to load the laundry in the drum 30 without bending overuncomfortably. And, the user is also able to look down on an inside ofthe drum 30, thereby enhancing the convenience in using the drum typewashing machine.

The drum 30 is rotatably provided within the tub 20. The drum 30 isinstalled to be spaced apart from the tub 20 with a prescribed gapin-between to prevent a collision with the tub 20 due to vibration. And,at least one lift 32 may be provided to an inner circumference of thedrum 30 to lift up the laundry.

The motor assembly 40 is provided on one side of the drum 30 to rotatethe drum 30.

The motor assembly 40 includes a motor 41 generating a rotational force,a rotational shaft 42 transferring the rotational force of the motor 41to the drum 30, and a bearing housing 28 rotatably supporting therotational shaft 42.

Preferably, the motor assembly 40 is provided on one side of the drum 30instead of being provided on both sides of the drum 30.

In particular, the rotational shaft 42 for rotating the drum 30 isprovided on one side of the drum 30 only to maximize a volume within thedrum 30.

The suspension assembly 70 is provided to support the weight of the drum30 and attenuate the vibration of the drum 30.

Preferably, the suspension assembly 70 is configured to support the drum30 by supporting the bearing housing 28.

As the drum 30 vibrates, so does the motor assembly 40. So, thesuspension assembly 70 supports the bearing housing 28, therebysupporting the weight of the drum 30 and attenuating the vibration.

The above-configured suspension assembly 70 may include a damper bracket72 extending from the bearing housing 28 and an attenuating partprovided between the damper bracket 72 and the cabinet 10 to support thedamper bracket 72 and attenuate the vibration simultaneously.

In the present embodiment, the attenuating part may include a damper 80having one end connected to the damper bracket 72 and the other endconnected to the base 16.

The damper bracket 72 may be configured to extend to each lower side ofthe outer circumference of the tub 20 from the bearing housing 28.

FIG. 3 shows the cross-section of the drum type washing machineaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

And, the damper 80 of the drum type washing machine according to oneembodiment of the present invention is preferably provided at a planarweight center between the entire elements (e.g., the drum 30, the motorassembly 40 for driving the drum 30, the damper bracket 72 assembled tothe motor assembly 40, etc.) supported by the damper 80.

The above-configured damper 80 supports the weight of the drum 30, theweight of the motor assembly 40 for the rotation of the drum 30, and thelike and plays a role in attenuating the vibration in a verticaldirection. In the following description, the damper 80 attenuating thevertical vibration of the drum 30 is called a main damper 80.

And, the damper bracket 72 assembled to the main damper 80 to besupported by the main damper 80 shall be called a main damper bracket 72in the following description.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional diagram of the main damper 80.

Referring to FIG. 6, the main damper 80 preferably includes a cylinder82, a piston 83 reciprocating within the cylinder 82 according tovibration and motion of the drum 30, and a spring 85 elasticallysupporting the piston 83.

In this case, since the main damper 80 is provided between the maindamper bracket 72 and the base 16 to support the weight of the drum 30upwardly, a compressive weight is normally applied to the main damper80.

Therefore, it is preferable that the spring 85 is configured to generatean elastic force when the piston 83 enters the cylinder 82.

A frictional member 84 is provided to the piston 82 to come into contactwith an inner circumference of the cylinder 82. When the drum 30vibrates, the frictional member 84 may be configured to attenuate thevibration by making a motion of friction with the inner circumference ofthe cylinder 82 according to a motion of the piston 83.

In particular, the weight applied to the main damper 80 is elasticallysupported by the spring 85 and the vibration transferred from the maindamper 80 is attenuated by the frictional member 84.

Preferably, one end of the main damper 80 joined to the main damperbracket 72 includes a hinge joint 87, while the other end of the maindamper 80 joined to the base 16 is configured to be fixed to the base 16by an elastic material based rubber bushing 86.

Since the main damper 80 is joined to the main damper bracket 72 by thehinge joint 87, it may have a relative degree of freedom against amotion of the drum 30. So, it is able to prevent the vibration or motionof the drum 30 from being directly carried to the cabinet 10.

Both of the weight of the drum 30 and the weight of the motor assembly40 for the rotation of the drum 30 are directly applied to the base 16to which the main damper 80 is joined. To reinforce the base 16, areinforcing part for rigidity reinforcement may be provided to theportion of the base to which the main damper 80 is joined.

The reinforcing part may be provided by the curved portion (‘16a’ inFIG. 5) of the base 16 to which the main damper 80 is joined.Alternatively, the reinforcing part may include a separate bracket(‘116’ in FIG. 9).

Referring back to FIG. 3, to prevent the drum 30 from inclining to oneside, an elastic member 44 may be further provided to elasticallysupport the backside of the drum 30. One end of the elastic member 44 isconnected to an inner surface of the top cover 13 of the cabinet 10 andthe other end of the elastic member 44 is connected to an upper side ofthe motor assembly 40.

In particular, the elastic member 44 may include a spring. One end ofthe elastic member 44 is hung on the inner surface of the top cover 13and the other end of the elastic member 44 is hooked on an upper end ofthe bearing housing 28. Thus, the backside of the drum 30 is elasticallyhung on the top cover 13, whereby the drum 30 is prevented frominclining to one side.

A user loads laundry into the drum 30 via the laundry loading entrance21, which is provided on the lateral side of the outer circumference ofthe tub 20, and the door assembly 31, which is provided on the lateralside of the outer circumference of the drum 30, and then executes thecorresponding washing.

Vibration is generated from the drum 30 in the course of washing andthen attenuated by the main damper 80 through the main damper bracket72. Moreover, the front side of the tub 20 is directly assembled to thefront inside of the cabinet 10 to be fixed thereto. So, if vibration orshock is delivered to the tub 20 assembled in one body to the cabinet10, the weight of the cabinet 10 itself being added to raise therigidity of the tub 20 rather than the tub 20 itself is shaken by thevibration or shock. Hence, it is able to enhance the overall vibrationcharacteristics of the drum type washing machine.

Another embodiment of the present invention is explained as follows.

In the aforesaid embodiment of the present invention, the suspensionassembly 70 supporting the drum 30 includes a pair of the main dampers80. Yet, in the present embodiment, a suspension assembly 70 may furtherinclude a sub-damper attenuating horizontal vibration of a drum 30.

A drum type washing machine according to another embodiment of thepresent invention is shown in FIGS. 4 to 7.

In describing a drum type washing machine according to anotherembodiment of the present invention, the same names and referencenumbers shall be used for the same parts of the former embodiment.

First of all, a drum type washing machine according to anotherembodiment of the present invention includes a cabinet 10 forming anexterior of the drum type washing machine, a tub 20 provided within thecabinet 10 to be directly assembled thereto, a drum 30 rotatablyprovided within the tub 20, a motor assembly 40 provided in rear of thetub 20 to include a motor 41 rotating the drum 30, a bearing housing 28configuring a backside of the tub 20 to support the rotating shaft 42 ofthe motor 41, a shock absorbing means 50 provided between the bearinghousing 28 and the tub 20 for sealing an internal space of the tub 20and for absorbing vibration or shock transferred to the tub 20 from themotor 40, and a suspension assembly 60 supporting the drum to attenuatethe vibration or shock transferred to the bearing housing 28.

A door 12 is provided on a lateral outer circumference of the cabinet 10instead of being provided on a front side of the cabinet 10. And, a base16 defines a bottom side of the cabinet 10.

The tub 20, as shown in FIG. 4, includes a tub body 22 directlyassembled to an inside of a front side 11 of the cabinet 10, the tubbody 22 having a laundry loading entrance 21 at a lateral outercircumference to communicate with the door 12 of the cabinet 10, a tubcover 24 assembled to a backside of the tub body 22 to enclose the drum30, the tub cover 24 having an opening 23 at its center, a tub bracket26 closing the opening 23 of the tub cover 24, and the bearing housing28 assembled to a backside of the tub bracket 26 to configure the motorassembly rotating the drum, the bearing housing 28 configured to supportthe rotating shaft 42.

The tub body 22, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, is fixed to the cabinet10 by being locked to the inside of the front side of the cabinet 10 byscrews 25a. The tub cover 24 is assembled by accommodating the drum 30therein. In particular, the tub cover 24 is assembled by being locked tothe locking holes 22a and 24a on the outer circumferences of the tubbody 22 and the tub cover 24 by screws 25c. The opening 23 of the tubcover 24 is sealed by the tub bracket 26 and the shock absorbing means50. The bearing housing 28 is assembled to the backside of the tubbracket 26 by screws 25b. In this case, the bearing housing 28 isprovided with bearing (not shown in the drawings) to enable therotational shaft 42 to be smoothly rotated and the rotational shaft 42is supported by the bearing.

The shock absorbing means 50 is provided to absorb vibration or shockgenerated from the drum 30 and the motor 40 in performing washing ordewatering. The shock absorbing means 50 is formed of an elasticmaterial that contracts or expands against the vibration or shock. And,the shock absorbing means 50 may include a backside gasket providedalong an outer circumference of the tub bracket 26 to seal the opening23. In the present embodiment, the shock absorbing means 50 isimplemented by the backside gasket that simultaneously achieves both asealing function and a shock absorbing function between the tub cover 24and the tub bracket 26.

Alternatively, the shock absorbing means 50 may be individuallyconfigured according to each of the functions. In particular, a sealingmember (not shown in the drawings) having the sealing function isinserted between the tub cover 24 and the tub bracket 26 and the shockabsorbing means 50 is provided between the bearing housing 28 and thetub bracket 26.

Hence, even if the vibration or shock is generated from the drum 30 orthe motor assembly 40 joined to the drum 30, since the shock absorbingmeans 50 is provided between the drum 30 and the tub 20, the vibrationor shock is delivered to the tub 20 after having been buffered via theshock absorbing means instead of being directly carried to the tub 20.The vibration or shock delivered to the tub 20 is then attenuated orreduced by each rigidity and weight of the tub 20 and the cabinet 10.

The motor 40 is assembled to the backside of the bearing housing 28. Therotational shaft 42 of the motor 40 passes through both of the bearinghousing 28 and the tub bracket 26 to be fixed to the backside of thedrum 30.

The drum 30 is rotated by the rotating shaft 42 of the motor 40. And, atleast one lift 32 is provided to an inner surface of the drum 30 to lifta laundry. And, a liquid balancer 34 is provided to a front side of thedrum 30. In this case, the liquid balancer 34 plays a role in balancingthe drum 30 to suppress the vibration of the drum 30.

The suspension assembly 60 is provided to support the weight of the drum30 and attenuate the vibration of the drum 30.

In the present embodiment, the suspension assembly 60 may include adamper bracket 62 extending from the bearing housing 28 and anattenuating part supporting the damper bracket 66 to support the drum30.

And, the attenuating part may include a pair of main dampers 80supporting the weight of the drum 30 to attenuate the vertical vibrationof the drum 30 and a sub-damper 90 attenuating the horizontal vibrationof the drum 30.

Moreover, the damper bracket 62 may include a pair of main damperbrackets 64 joined to a pair of the main dampers 80, respectively and asub-damper bracket 66 joined to the sub-damper 90.

In particular, the main damper bracket 64 joined to the main damper 80is configured to have one end to be fixed to one of both lower corner ofthe bearing housing 28 and the other end bent toward a front side of thetub 20. And, the main damper 80 is joined to the corresponding portionbent toward the front side of the tub 20.

Preferably, the main damper 80 is installed vertical to the base 16.This is because the main damper 80 supports the vertical weights of thedrum 30, bearing housing 28, and motor 40 and also plays a role inattenuating the vertical vibration.

In particular, a pair of the main damper brackets 64 are provided toboth of the lower corners of the bearing housing 28 toward the frontside of the tub 20 and a pair of the main dampers 80 are joined to apair of the main damper brackets 64, respectively.

One end of the sub-damper bracket 66 joined to the sub-damper 90 isfixed to a center of a lower side of the bearing housing 28, while theother end extends to a prescribed length toward the front side of thetub 20. And, the sub-damper 90 is joined to the portion of thesub-damper bracket 66 extending toward the front side of the tub 20.

In this case, the sub-damper 90 is configured to attenuate thehorizontal vibration of the drum 30. In particular, the sub-damper 90 ispreferably configured to incline a front to rear direction of the drum30 to attenuate the front to rear direction vibration generated fromover-vibration of the drum 30.

Alternatively, the sub-damper 90 may be provided in a right to leftdirection to attenuate the right to left vibration.

Since the configuration of the main damper 80 is identical to that ofthe aforesaid main damper 80 of the former embodiment of the presentinvention, details of the main damper 80 are omitted in the followingdescription.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional diagram of the sub-damper 90 according to anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the sub-damper 90 includes a cylinder 92 having ahollow configuration, a piston 93 reciprocating within the cylinder 92according to a motion of the drum 30, and a frictional member 94provided to the piston 93 to attenuate vibration energy by frictionalmovement against an inner surface of the cylinder 92.

Preferably, the sub-damper 90 is provided between the sub-damper bracket66 and the base 16 configuring the bottom side of the cabinet 10. Morepreferably, both ends of the sub-damper 90 are joined by hinges 97thereto.

Therefore, if the drum 30 vibrates back and forth, the sub-damper 90contracts and expands in a direction of the vibration of the drum 30 toattenuate the corresponding vibration.

Similar to the former embodiment, the present embodiment may furtherinclude a reinforcing part provided a portion for joining the maindamper 80 or the sub-damper 90 to the base 16 of the cabinet 10 toreinforce rigidity.

In this case, the reinforcing part may include a curved part 16aprovided to the portion for joining the main damper 80 or the sub-damper90 to the cabinet 10 or a separate bracket (‘116’ in FIG. 9).

Referring to FIG. 4, an elastic member 44, such as a coil spring, astring made of rubber and the like, may be provided to an inner surfaceof the top cover 13 forming a topside of the cabinet 10 to elasticallyhang the bearing housing 28. In particular, the elastic member 44elastically supports a rear portion of the drum 30 to prevent the drum30 from inclining to one side.

Therefore, the vibration or shock generated from the drum 30 istransferred to the rotational shaft 42 of the motor connected to thedrum 30 and the bearing housing 28 supporting the rotational shaft 42.In this case, the transferred vibration or shock is primarily absorbedby the contraction or expansion of the shock absorbing means 50 and therest of the vibration or shock is then delivered to the main dampers 90and the sub-damper via the main damper brackets 64 and the sub-damperbracket 66, respectively. So, the vibration or shock generated from thedrum 30 may be reduced in a manner that the main dampers 80 attenuatethe vertical vibration of the vibration delivered to the main dampers 80and the sub-damper 90 while the sub-damper 90 attenuates the horizontalvibration of the vibration delivered to the main dampers 80 and thesub-damper 90.

Hence, the horizontal vibration generated from the drum 30 is attenuatedas well as the vertical vibration, whereby the drum 30 may be supportedmore stably.

A drum type washing machine according to a further embodiment of thepresent invention is explained as follows.

FIGS. 8 to 10 are diagram of a drum type washing machine according to afurther embodiment of the present invention.

In describing a drum type washing machine according to a furtherembodiment of the present invention, the same names and referencenumbers shall be used for the same parts of the former embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 8 to 10, a drum type washing machine according to afurther embodiment of the present invention includes a cabinet 10defining an exterior of the drum type washing machine, a tub 20 fixedwithin the cabinet 10 to store water therein, a drum 30 rotatablyprovided within the tub 20, a motor assembly 140 provided next to oneside of the drum 30 to rotate the drum 30, and a suspension assembly 160provided to support a weight of the drum 30 and attenuate vibration ofthe drum 30.

A laundry loading entrance 21 is provided to an outer circumference ofthe tub 20 to load and unload laundry. And, a door assembly 31 isprovided to a specific portion of the drum 30 to communicate with thelaundry loading entrance 21. Moreover, a door 12 may be provided to aspecific portion of the cabinet to communicate with the laundry loadingentrance 21.

Since the cabinet 10, the tub 20, the drum 30 and the motor assembly 140of the drum type washing machine according to the further embodiment ofthe present invention are identical to those of the drum type washingmachine according to the former embodiment of the present invention, thecorresponding descriptions are referred to in the previous descriptionfor convenience of explanation.

Meanwhile, the suspension assembly 160 of the drum type washing machineaccording to the further embodiment of the present invention includes adamper bracket joined to the bearing housing 128 and an attenuating partjoined to the damper bracket to attenuate vibration. In this case, theattenuating part supports a weight of the drum 30 and a weight of themotor assembly 140 driving the drum 30.

The attenuating part may include a main damper 180 supporting the weightof the drum 30 to attenuate vertical vibration and a rear damper 182attenuating the vertical vibration of the drum to prevent the drum 30from inclining to one side.

And, the damper bracket may include at least one main damper bracket 164joined to the main damper 180 and a rear damper bracket 168 joined tothe rear damper 182.

Preferably, the at least one main damper bracket 164 joined to the maindamper 180 extends from the bearing housing 128 to an outside of anouter circumference of the tub 20 toward each lower lateral side of thetub 20 in a direction of a diameter of the tub 20 and then extendstoward a front side of the tub 20 to a prescribed length. And, the maindamper 180 is preferably joined to an end portion of the extendingportion of the main damper bracket 164.

Preferably, the main damper 180 is provided vertical to the base 16.This is because the main damper 180 plays a role in supporting verticalweights of the drum 30, bearing housing 128 and motor assembly 140 andattenuating the vertical vibration. In particular, a pair of main damperbrackets 164 are provided to extend from both lateral sides of thebearing housing 128 toward the front side of the tub 20, respectively.And, a pair of main dampers 180 are provided to be joined to a pair ofthe main damper brackets 164, respectively.

Since each of the above-configured main dampers 180 has the sameconfiguration of the aforesaid main damper 80 of the former embodimentof the present invention, its details are omitted in the followingdescription.

Preferably, one end of the rear damper bracket 168 joined to the reardamper 182 is fixed to a lower center of the bearing housing 128 and theother end is configured to extend to a prescribed length toward the base16. And, the rear damper 182 is vertically joined to an end portion ofthe other end of the rear damper bracket 168.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional diagram of a drum type washing machineaccording to a further embodiment of the present invention. Forconvenience of explanation, the main damper bracket 164 is representedas a perspective diagram instead of a cross-sectional diagram.

The main damper 180, as shown in FIG. 9, is provided under each of bothof the lower sides of the drum 30 and the rear damper 182 is providedunder a rear side of the drum 30. In this case, since a pair of the maindampers 180 are provided under both of the lower sides of the drum 30,the pair of main dampers 180 and the rear damper 182 are provided toconfigure a triangle.

Namely, three dampers are provided to attenuate the vertical vibrationof the drum 30.

The rear damper 182 is the element that prevents the drum 30 frominclining to a front or rear side of the drum 30. Generally, the drum 30tends to incline to one side owing to a center of weight. Since theheavy motor assembly 140 is normally provided next to the backside ofthe drum 30, the center of weight of the drum 30 lies in a rear part ofthe drum 30 rather than a central part of the drum 30 when the drum 30is empty.

Hence, a pair of the main dampers 180 and the rear damper 182 preventthe drum 30 from drooping while supporting the weight of the drum 30.

In this case, the function and configuration of the rear damper 182 mayvary according to an installed position of the corresponding main damper180.

In particular, if the main damper 180 is provided to a position enablingthe empty drum 30 to keep its balance, when laundry and water are loadedin the drum 30, the drum 30 inclines forward while a rear side of thedrum 30 relatively rises upward.

In this case, the rear damper 182, as shown in FIG. 10, preferablyincludes a cylinder 183, a piston 185 reciprocating within the cylinder183 to attenuate vibration, a frictional member 186 attached to thepiston 185, and a spring 184 supporting the piston 185 to provide anelastic force when the piston 185 is pulled out, thereby elasticallypulling down the rear side of the drum 30 not to rise. Alternatively,the rear damper 182 may be configured identical to that shown in FIG. 6to provide an elastic force when the spring 85 is pulled.

If the rear side of the drum 30 is designed to fall when laundry andwater are loaded in the empty drum 30 tending to incline backward, therear damper 182, as shown in FIG. 6, preferably includes the cylinder82, the piston 83 reciprocating within the cylinder 82 to attenuatevibration, and the spring 85 supporting the piston 83 to activate anelastic force when the piston 83 enters the cylinder 82. In particular,the rear damper 182 elastically supports the rear side of the drum 30 toprevent the rear side of the drum 30 from falling downward.

In this case, positions for installing the main dampers 180 and the reardamper 182 are preferably decided to enable a center of weight workingby the drum 30, the motor assembly 140, and the like to exist within thetriangle configured by the main dampers 180 and the rear damper 182.

Although the other end portions of the side for joining the main damperbrackets 164 of the main dampers 180 and the rear damper 182 and thesub-damper bracket 166 thereto may be directly joined to the base 16,the forming parts (‘16a’ in FIG. 5) or the reinforcing plates 116 of theformer embodiments may be provided to prevent the transformation of thebase 16.

Meanwhile, the suspension assembly of the present embodiment may furtherinclude sub-dampers 190a and 190b attenuating the horizontal vibrationof the drum 30 in addition to the main dampers 180 and the rear damper182 that attenuate the vertical vibration by supporting the weight ofthe drum 30.

The horizontal vibration of the drum 30 includes a front-to-rearvibration of the drum 30 and a right-to-left vibration of the drum 30.And, the horizontal vibration tends to be generated in case that thedrum 30 is in an over-vibrating state.

To attenuate the horizontal vibration, the sub-dampers 190a and 190b maybe provided to incline in a front-to-rear or right-to-left direction.

In particular, if the sub-damper 190a is provided to incline in thefront-to-rear direction, the front-to-rear horizontal vibration of thedrum 30 will be attenuated. If the sub-damper 190b is provided toincline in the right-to-left direction, the right-to-left horizontalvibration of the drum 30 will be attenuated.

Of course, either the sub-damper 190a or the sub-damper 190b may beselectively provided to incline in either the front-to-rear direction orthe right-to-left direction. Alternatively, both of the sub-dampers 190aand 190b may be provided to incline in the front-to-rear direction andthe right-to-left direction, respectively.

Preferably, one end of the sub-dampers 190a and 190b are hinged to oneside of the main damper bracket 164 and the other end of the sub-dampers190a and 190b are hinged to the base 16.

A sub-damper bracket 166 joined to the sub-dampers 190a and 190b may beseparately provided. The sub-damper bracket 166 may be configured to bejoined to the main damper bracket 164. Alternatively, the sub-damperbracket (not shown in the drawing) may be configured to be directlyjoined to the bearing housing 128.

The above-configured sub-dampers 190a and 190b may have the sameconfigurations of the aforesaid sub-dampers 190a and 190b of the formerembodiment of the present invention.

In the drum type washing machine according to the further embodiment ofthe present invention, since the tub 20 is directly fixed to the cabinet10 so as not to fluctuate, the tub 20 may avoid colliding with thecabinet 10. Hence, a diameter of the tub 20 may be increased to extend acapacity or volume of the drum 30.

Since one side of the rotating drum 30 is supported instead of bothsides of the rotating drum 30, an internal volume of the drum 30 may befurther extended and the number of parts may be reduced. Hence,productivity may be enhanced.

Since the drum 30 is supported by three points using the main dampers180 and the rear damper 182, the drum 30 may be prevented from incliningto one side according to the variation of the center of weightattributed to the loaded laundry and water.

Since the sub-dampers 190a and 190b are provided to attenuate thefront-to-rear and right-to-rear directional vibrations, it is able toeffectively suppress the horizontal vibration of the drum 30.

Accordingly, the embodiment of the present invention provides thefollowing effects or advantages.

First of all, since a tub is directly fixed to a cabinet so as not tofluctuate, it is able to increase a diameter of the tub. Hence, a volumeor capacity of a drum may be considerably increased.

Secondly, since a laundry loading entrance and a door assembly areprovided on a lateral side of an outer circumference of a drum to loadand unload laundry in the drum instead of a front side of the drum, auser does not bend over to load the laundry in the drum and is able toconveniently look down on an inside of the drum. Hence, the presentinvention enhances user's convenience.

Thirdly, a rotational shaft and a motor assembly to rotate a drum areprovided to one side of the drum only and one side of the drum issupported only. So, it is unnecessary to support both ends of the drum.Hence, a volume or capacity of the drum may be increased.

Fourthly, a front side of a tub is directly joined and fixed to an innersurface of a front side of a cabinet. In case that vibration or shock isdelivered to the tub assembled in one body of the cabinet, a weight ofthe cabinet is added to increase rigidity of the tub rather than the tubshaking because of the vibration or shock. Hence, an overall vibrationcharacteristic of a drum type washing machine may be enhanced.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations may be made without departing from thespirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, it is intended that the claimscover the modifications and variations of this invention provided theycome within the scope of the claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A drum type washing machine comprising: a cabinetforming an exterior of the drum type washing machine; a tub fixed withinthe cabinet, the tub defining a space where water for washing laundry isheld and having a laundry loading entrance at an outer circumference ofthe tub; a drum rotatably provided within the space of the tub, the drumhaving an opening on a lateral circumferential side thereof tocommunicate with the laundry loading entrance of the tub; a motorassembly provided next to one side of the drum to rotate the drum themotor assembly including a rotational shaft connected to the drum; aplate through which the rotational shaft passes, the plate covering partof the space of the tub; a gasket connected between the tub and theplate, the gasket covering part of the space of the tub therebetween;and a suspension assembly provided to support a weight of the drum andattenuate vibration of the drum.
 2. The drum type washing machine ofclaim 1, the motor assembly comprising: a motor generating a rotationalforce; and a bearing housing rotatably supporting the rotational shaft,and the suspension assembly comprising: at least one damper bracketextending from the bearing housing; and an attenuating part providedbetween the at least one damper bracket and the cabinet to support thedrum via the at least one damper bracket.
 3. The drum type washingmachine of claim 2, the attenuating part comprising a pair of maindampers provided to support the weight of the drum and attenuatevertical vibration of the drum.
 4. The drum type washing machine ofclaim 3, the attenuating part further comprising a sub-damper providedto attenuate horizontal vibration of the drum.
 5. The drum type washingmachine of claim 4, wherein the at least one damper bracket isconfigured to be bent toward a front side of the tub from a center ofthe bearing housing and wherein one end of the sub-damper is joined toan end portion of the at least one damper bracket.
 6. The drum typewashing machine of claim 4, wherein the sub-damper is connected to bothof the at least one damper bracket and the cabinet.
 7. The drum typewashing machine of claim 3, the attenuating part further comprising anelastic member connecting the bearing housing on a topside of thecabinet.
 8. The drum type washing machine of claim 3, the at least twomain dampers, each comprising: a cylinder; a piston provided toreciprocate within the cylinder according to a motion of the drum toattenuate the vibration of the drum; and a spring configured toelastically support the piston.
 9. The drum type washing machine ofclaim 8, wherein a frictional member is provided to an outercircumference of the piston to attenuate the vibration by making africtional movement against an inner circumference of the cylinderaccording to a motion of the piston.
 10. The drum type washing machineof claim 8, wherein each of the at least two main dampers is connectedto the corresponding damper bracket.
 11. The drum type washing machineof claim 2, the attenuating part comprising at least three dampersprovided to support the weight of the drum and attenuate verticalvibration of the drum.
 12. The drum type washing machine of claim 11,the attenuating part comprising: at least two main dampers provided tosupport the weight of the drum; and at least one rear damper provided toprevent the drum from inclining to one side.
 13. The drum type washingmachine of claim 12, wherein the rear damper is configured to preventthe drum from inclining to a front or rear side of the drum.
 14. Thedrum type washing machine of claim 12, the at least one damper bracketcomprising a rear damper bracket configured to extend from the bearinghousing to a center of a lower outer circumference of the tub to bejoined to the at least one rear damper.
 15. The drum type washingmachine of claim 14, wherein each of the at least two main dampers isconnected to the corresponding main damper bracket and wherein the reardamper is hinged to the rear damper bracket.
 16. The drum type washingmachine of claim 12, the at least two main dampers, each comprising: acylinder; a piston provided to reciprocate within the cylinder accordingto a motion of the drum to attenuate the vibration of the drum; and aspring configured to support the piston and have an elastic force whenthe piston enters the cylinder.
 17. The drum type washing machine ofclaim 12, the rear damper comprising: a cylinder; a piston provided toreciprocate within the cylinder according to a motion of the drum toattenuate the vibration of the drum; and a spring configured to supportthe piston and have an elastic force when the piston is pulled out ofthe cylinder.
 18. The drum type washing machine of claim 11, furthercomprising a sub-damper provided to attenuate horizontal vibration ofthe drum.
 19. A drum type washing machine comprising: a cabinet formingan exterior of the drum type washing machine; a tub fixed within thecabinet, the tub having a laundry loading entrance at an outercircumference of the tub; a drum rotatably provided within the tub, thedrum having an opening on a lateral circumferential side of the drum tocommunicate with the laundry loading entrance of the tub; a motorassembly provided next to one side of the drum to rotate the drum, themotor assembly including a rotational shaft connected to the drum and abearing housing to rotatably support the rotational shaft; and asuspension assembly provided to support a weight of the drum andattenuate vibration of the drum, wherein the suspension assemblyincludes at least one damper bracket which is configured to be benttoward a front side of the tub from the bearing housing and a damperwhich is connected to the at least one damper bracket.
 20. A drum typewashing machine comprising: a cabinet forming an exterior of the drumtype washing machine; a tub fixed within the cabinet, the tub having alaundry loading entrance at an outer circumference of the tub; a drumrotatably provided within the tub, the drum having an opening on alateral circumferential side of the drum to communicate with the laundryloading entrance of the tub; a motor assembly provided next to one sideof the drum to rotate the drum, the motor assembly including arotational shaft connected to the drum and a bearing housing torotatably support the rotational shaft; and a suspension assemblyprovided to support a weight of the drum and attenuate vibration of thedrum, the suspension assembly comprising at least two damper bracketsand at least two dampers, wherein each of the at least two damperbrackets extends from the bearing housing to an outside of each lowerside of an outer circumference of the tub, and is bent toward a frontside of the drum, and extends to a prescribed length, and the twodampers are connected to the two damper brackets, respectively.
 21. Adrum type washing machine, comprising: a tub configured to hold watertherein; a drum rotatably disposed in the tub; a shaft connected to thedrum; a bearing housing that rotatably supports the shaft; a motor thatrotates the shaft; and a suspension connected to the bearing housing,the suspension comprising a plurality of supporters substantiallyvertically disposed and spaced away from each other a predetermineddistance in a direction that a rotational axis of the drum extends, anda supporter substantially inclined in the direction that the rotationalaxis of the drum extends.
 22. The drum type washing machine of claim 21,wherein one of the plurality of supporters is provided under therotational axis of the drum and the other of the plurality of supportersis provided over the rotational axis.
 23. The drum type washing machineof claim 21, wherein the plurality of supporters comprises a pluralityof dampers substantially vertically disposed under the rotational axis.24. The drum type washing machine of claim 23, wherein the plurality ofdampers is provided at both lateral sides of the rotational axis. 25.The drum type washing machine of claim 24, wherein the plurality ofdampers is symmetrically disposed with respect to the rotational axis.26. The drum type washing machine of claim 23, wherein the plurality ofdampers comprises a plurality of spring dampers.
 27. The drum typewashing machine of claim 21, wherein the suspension comprises a springprovided over the rotational axis.
 28. The drum type washing machine ofclaim 27, wherein the spring is provided at a center position spacedaway from the drum in the rotational axis direction.
 29. The drum typewashing machine of claim 21, wherein the suspension comprises a damperbracket that extends in the direction that the rotational axis of thedrum extends.
 30. The drum type washing machine of claim 21, furthercomprising a gasket that seals an opening of the tub and allows thebearing housing to move relatively to the tub.
 31. The drum type washingmachine of claim 30, further comprising a tub bracket through which theshaft passes, wherein the gasket is connected between the tub and thetub bracket.
 32. The drum type washing machine of claim 21, furthercomprising a cabinet, wherein the tub is fixed to the cabinet.
 33. Adrum type washing machine, comprising: a tub configured to hold watertherein; a drum rotatably disposed in the tub; a shaft connected to thedrum; a bearing housing that rotatably supports the shaft; a motor thatrotates the shaft; and a suspension assembly connected to the bearinghousing that reduces vibration of the drum, the suspension assemblycomprising a plurality of supporting devices substantially verticallydisposed and spaced away from each other a predetermined distance in adirection that a rotational axis of the drum extends, wherein theplurality of supporting devices comprises two supporting devicesprovided at both lateral sides of the drum, and a supporting deviceprovided at a center of the drum.
 34. The drum type washing machine ofclaim 33, wherein one of the plurality of supporting devices is providedunder the rotational axis of the drum and the other of the plurality ofsupporting devices is provided over the rotational axis.
 35. The drumtype washing machine of claim 33, wherein the plurality of supportingdevices comprises a plurality of dampers substantially verticallydisposed under the rotational axis.
 36. The drum type washing machine ofclaim 35, wherein the plurality of dampers is provided at both lateralsides of the rotational axis.
 37. The drum type washing machine of claim36, wherein the plurality of dampers is symmetrically disposed withrespect to the rotational axis.
 38. The drum type washing machine ofclaim 33, wherein the plurality of dampers comprises a plurality ofspring dampers.
 39. The drum type washing machine of claim 33, whereinthe plurality of supporting devices comprises three damperssubstantially vertically disposed and the suspension assembly furthercomprises two dampers which are inclined.
 40. The drum type washingmachine of claim 39, wherein the inclined dampers are inclined in thedirection that the rotational axis of the drum extends.